Scania – Ericsson collaboration enhances wireless communication between heavy vehicles
Connectivity is an integral part of Scania’s customer offering since many years. As Scania now launches a new connectivity offering, the number of connected Scania vehicles has reached a quarter million. This amounts to two thirds of Scania’s 5-year rolling fleet.
Södertälje, Sweden, 06-Mar-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — “The world of heavy transport stands on the brink of a fundamental shift towards sustainable transport. Digitalisation and connectivity will play a pivotal role in enabling this shift,” says Henrik Henriksson, President and CEO of Scania.
With the aim to lead the shift towards sustainable transport systems, Scania has outlined a strategy that focuses on greater energy efficiency, smarter and safer transport and the increased utilisation of alternative renewable fuels.
One key enabler of change is connectivity, which Scania pioneered as a standard feature. Today more than 50,000 Scania customers globally benefit from in-depth data on fleet performance for their one-quarter million vehicles.
“We continue to get a growing share of our revenue from connectivity and other new areas. This past year we saw about 5% of our top line directly or indirectly depending on connected vehicles,” says Henriksson.
Through connectivity there is great potential to eliminate waste in the transport system, and ensure the highest uptime. This is essential in an industry where a truck that spends just a few days off the road can have high impact on a customer’s earnings. The right combination of connected services can also help reduce fuel costs, which usually constitute one-third of transport company expenditure.
In addition, with a connected fleet, there is enormous potential in finding flow efficiency gains in the industries where Scania’s customers’ customers operate, for example in construction, city public transport and forestry. Scania uses real time data to optimise a flow and predict for the specific route and for the specific customer how to get the most out of each vehicle. Irrespective of whether it is maintaining a long haul truck as many days as possible on the road, or if it is knowing the logistics of a large scale construction site or if it is optimising public transport systems in large cities, connectivity and data analysis helps deliver the best possible transport service for each customer.
Autonomous technology where Scania also collaborates with communications technology giant Ericsson on enhancing wireless communication between heavy vehicles, is another area making fast progress. The possibilities offered in the autonomous space will grow further as the 5G networks that Ericsson is developing will be deployed. Scania has recently been awarded a project to design the world’s first full-scale autonomous truck platooning operations in Singapore. With reliable inter-communications between trucks and buses, distances between vehicles can be safely reduced, reducing drag and lowering fuel consumption. Connectivity also enables real-time updates on weather conditions, obstacles on the road, and other hazards that might pose a safety risks.
Scania is now further developing its efficiency-enhancing services through the open, non-proprietary Scania One, with a platform for existing and coming Scania services and external content. It provides a comprehensive gateway to all presently available and coming services in the device of choice, mobile or stationary.
SOURCE: Scania
For further information, please contact:
Karin Hallstan, Public Relations Manager
Phone +46 76 842 8104
E-mail karin.hallstan@scania.com